Page 25 of A Little Light

Andi sighed as she lowered her eyes. “We can still be friends. It’s not the end of the world.” She said she would call and hasn’t. Take the hint and move on.

“You don’t want to only be friends with her, though, do you?”

Rather than admit to what she really wanted, Andi would focus on something else. “She’s…only thirty-five.”

Sally lifted a shoulder. “So?”

“So, I should probably have the same concerns Jane did when we first met. I’m fifty, Sally. If I meet someone significantly younger than me, it won’t last forever.”

“But for the time you may have with someone, you could be incredibly happy.”

Sally was right. And if Andi was so concerned by their age gap, she never would have married Jane. That was a poor excuse to sabotage anything before it had begun. If something ever began. “I was thinking of inviting Rachel to Hillary’s party with me. Granted, I was thinking of it before she said no to me, but she could still come as a friend. W-what do you think?”

“I think that’s a great idea. Providing she likes Christmas, that is.”

“She does. We spent the evening at the Christmas market with one another last week. The night after I was there with you.”

“You kept that quiet.” Sally narrowed her eyes, but she still had that playful look.

“There was nothing to tell. I was there, and she showed up. We didn’t arrange it.”

“Tell me all about it!” Sally demanded, tugging Andi towards a bench. They sat down, Sally with her legs crossed and hand fisted under her chin in waiting. “They can cope without me at work.”

“It was just a really lovely evening. Then we met again for beers with one another. She’s…I don’t know.” Andi puffed out her cheeks. “I kind of get lost in her eyes whenever we’re together.”

Sally grinned. “Yeah?”

Why was Andi doing this to herself? Rachel wasn’t interested, but here she was, still daydreaming about her. “And it was nice to feel something normal again. Doing something I’ve always loved. Spending time at the markets.”

“I’d like to meet Rachel. Properly this time. Perhaps I could have a little word with her and ask her if she’s completely stupid in turning you down.”

Andi would love Sally to meet Rachel, too. If she was going to be a friend who Andi thought a lot of, then it was important that they all got along well. “I’m not going to chase someone who doesn’t see us going anywhere, Sal.”

Sally sighed as she slumped back against the bench. “Who knows. Maybe things will change.”

* * *

Rachel kicked her heels off, throwing her clutch bag to the stairs in frustration. Tonight, she’d had the client from hell. Tonight…could have turned out very differently if Rachel hadn’t left when she did. She understood that people were only human, and it was only natural to be attracted to escorts—on some occasions—but to be almost forced back to a hotel room with someone? No, that wasn’t acceptable. Rachel didn’t appreciate it when clients changed the rules upon arrival, and that client was now blacklisted from Rachel’s contacts, as well as the agency. No meant no, and that was that.

She answered her phone when it started to ring in her hand. Rachel had texted Kelly when she was in the cab, so now it was time for Kelly’s meltdown to commence. “Hey.”

“What the hell is going on? Are you okay?” The worry in Kelly’s voice mirrored how Rachel felt before she’d hailed a cab in the city. “Rae?”

“I’m okay. I’m fine. It was just…a lot.” Rachel moved into her kitchen, slumping back against the counter. “I need a strong drink, but I’m okay.”

“Who the fuck was this woman? Do you need me to come over?”

“No, it’s okay. I’m absolutely fine.”

Kelly sighed. “These are the nights when I worry about that bloody job of yours.”

Rachel understood Kelly’s concern, but this was the first time in over a year that an evening had ended this way. It wasn’t her job that was the issue; it was the people who didn’t know when to stop. “It was a new client. I know the potential, and I recognised it with her before she could force me into the lift. This is why I hate having dinner with clients at the hotel they’re staying at.”

“And people think it’s only men who don’t know the meaning of the word no!”

“Kelly, relax. I’m home, my heels are off, and I’m going to lie in the bath and soak this tension away. Tomorrow is a new day, and I’ll never see that client again.”

“Fucking bitch!”

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